25 Times Emma Watson Was Our Girl Crush

Emma Watson doesn’t just play intelligent, opinionated and free-spirited women onscreen (think Hermione Granger and soon, Beauty and the Beast‘s Belle) — she is one. The Brown University alumna’s inspiring work for the UN, her #HeForShe campaign and her consistently positive rhetoric with regards to body image have inspired our major girl crush on the actress. (And if that wasn’t enough, she’s got impeccable style too.)

To celebrate her birthday on April 15, we’ve assembled her 25 most empowering (and sometimes hilarious) words of wisdom. Because yes, at 25 she is already quite wise.

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1. “I don’t want to look like everyone else. I don’t have perfect teeth, I’m not stick thin.” — Elle interview, 2011

2. “I did not wake up like this.” — Twitter

3. “When at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams, because they didn’t want to appear muscle-y, when at 18, my male friends were unable to express their feelings, I decided that I was a feminist.” — UN Gender Equality Speech, 2014

4. “You can’t go to the pharmacy without someone saying, ‘Hey, you’re the girl from Harry Potter!’ and I’m like ‘Yeah! Just buying tampons, see you in a bit!’ ” — ABC News, 2010

5. “Really I was open-minded about doing anything, but the one thing I didn’t want to do was get myself into a corset, because I was worried I’d never get out again.” — GQ interview, 2013

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6. “If I had it my way, I would have just kept [my hair] short forever. Of course, men like long hair. There’s no two ways about it. The majority of the boys around me were like, ‘Why did you do that? That’s such an error.’ And I was like, ‘Well, honestly, I don’t really care what you think!'” — Glamour interview, 2012

7. “How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?” — UN Gender Equality Speech, 2014

8. “There’s nothing interesting about looking perfect — you lose the point. You want what you’re wearing to say something about you, about who you are.” — Teen Vogue interview, 2009

9. “I’ve probably earned the right to screw up a few times. I don’t want fear of failure to stop me doing what I really care about.” — Vogue interview, 2011

10. “All I can do is follow my instincts because I’ll never please everyone.” — The Independent interview, 2012

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11. “I will work for anyone for free if they’re prepared to make their clothing fair trade and organic. It’s really hard to get people interested in it.” — US Weekly interview, 2010

12. “I’ve never wanted to grow up too fast. I wanted to wear a sports bra until I was 22!'” — W interview, 2013

13. “I truly believe that beauty comes from within.” — Hello! magazine interview, 2011

14. “We really damage our own confidence when we put ourselves down, so I try not to.” — Glamour UK interview, 2012

15. “I keep telling myself that I’m a human being, an imperfect human being who’s not made to look like a doll.” — Glamour UK interview, 2012

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16. “I want to be the person who feels great in her body and can say that she loves it and doesn’t want to change anything.” — Elle interview, 2011

17. “I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.” — UN Gender Equality Speech, 2014

18. “Men, I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue, too.” — UN Gender Equality Speech, 2014

19. “It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals.” — UN Gender Equality Speech, 2014

20. “I feel like young girls are told this whole idea that they have to be this kind of princess and be all delicate and fragile and that’s bullshit.” — GlobalGrind interview, 2011

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21. “I’m excited about the aging process. I’m more interested in women who aren’t perfect. They’re more compelling.” — The Sunday Times interview, 2014

22. “In a way, I started out like this old lady, and now I feel like my age is catching up with me.” — Wonderland interview, 2011

23. “Even worse than seeing women’s privacy violated on social media is reading the accompanying comments that show such a lack of empathy.” — Twitter

24. “Gender equality not only liberates women but also men from prescribed gender stereotypes.” — Twitter

25. “I just got rid of my sofa and replaced it with a ping pong table. I think this is the best decision I have made in months!” — Twitter